Nuclear medicine employs radioactive material for therapy and diagnostic imaging. Positron emission tomography (PET) is one type of diagnostic imaging, which utilizes doses of radiopharmaceutical, for example, generated by elution within a radioisotope generator that are injected, or infused into a patient. The infused dose of radiopharmaceutical is absorbed by cells of a target organ, of the patient, and emits radiation, which is detected by a PET scanner, in order to generate an image of the organ. An example of a radioactive isotope, which may be used for PET, is Rubidium-82 (produced by the decay of Strontium-82); and an example of a radioisotope generator, which yields a saline solution of Rubidium-82, via elution, is the CardioGen-82® available from Bracco Diagnostics Inc. (Princeton, N.J.).
Whether the half-life of a particular radioactive isotope, employed by a radiopharmaceutical, is relatively short or long, a patient undergoing a nuclear imaging procedure is not typically exposed to a significant amount of radiation. However those personnel, whose job it is to set up and maintain radiopharmaceutical infusion systems, and to administer doses therefrom, are subject to more frequent exposures to radiation. Therefore, shielding assemblies, which provide a radiation barrier to protect these personnel from excessive exposure to radiation sources, are an important component of radiopharmaceutical generators and infusion systems. These shielding assemblies are typically formed with lead sidewalls, the bulk and weight of which can pose difficulties for the personnel who regularly set up, maintain and use the systems. Thus, there is a need for improved shielding assemblies employed by systems that generate and infuse radiopharmaceuticals.